美食祈祷与恋爱意大利文化 《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 80 (181):巴厘岛天堂

《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 80 (181):巴厘岛天堂  

That said
I must be honest here and relay that it takes me only three afternoons of research in the local library to realize that all my original ideas about Balinese paradise were a bit misguided. I'd been telling people since I first visited Bali o years ago that this small island was the world's only true utopia
a place that has known only peace and harmony and balance for all time. A perfect Eden with no history of violence or bloodshed ever. I'm not sure where I got this grand idea
but I endorsed it with full confidence.
"Even the policemen wear flowers in their hair
" I would say
as if that proved it.
In reality
though
it turns out Bali has had exactly as bloody and violent and oppressive a history as anywhere else on earth where human beings have ever lived. When the Javanese kings first immigrated here in the sixteenth century
they essentially established a feudal colony
with a strict caste system which—like all self-respecting caste systems—tended not to trouble itself with consideration for those at the bottom. The economy of early Bali was fueled by a lucrative slave trade (which not only preceded European participation in the international slave traffic by several centuries
but also outlived Europe's trafficking of human lives for a good long while). Internally
the island was constantly at war as rival kings staged attacks (plete with mass rape and murder) on their neighbors. Until the late nieenth century
the Balinese had a reputation amongst traders and sailors for being vicious fighters. (The word amok
as in "running amok
" is a Balinese word
describing a battle technique of sud-denly going insanely wild against one's enemies in suicidal and bloody hand-to-hand bat; the Europeans were frankly terrified by this practice.) With a well-disciplined army of 30
000
the Balinese defeated their Dutch invaders in 1848
again in 1849 and once more
for good measure
in 1850. They collapsed under Dutch rule only when the rival kings of Bali broke ranks and betrayed each other in bids for power
aligning with the enemy for the promise of good business deals later. So to gauze this island's history today in a dream of paradise is a bit insulting to reality; it's not like these people have spent the last millennium just sitting around smiling and singing happy songs.
事实上，巴厘岛原来和世界各地有人存在的其他地方并无不同，也有过血腥、暴力、镇压的历史。爪哇诸王在16世纪首先移居此地，基本上建立了一个封建殖民地，采取严格的种姓制度——就像每一种骄傲的种姓制度——往往不屑于考量底层阶级。早期的巴厘岛经济得力于有利可图的奴隶贩卖（不仅比欧洲参与国际奴隶交易提早数世纪，也比欧洲的人口贩卖历时更久）。岛内内战不断，诸王竞相攻击彼此（加上集体凌虐与谋杀）。直到19世纪末期，巴厘岛人在商人与水手口中还拥有"恶斗者"之名。（"amok"一字，如"runningamok"［充满杀机］，是巴厘用字，描述突然以自杀式血腥搏斗来疯狂抗敌的战术；欧洲人十分恐惧此战术。）三万人组成的高纪律军队使巴厘岛人分别在1848、1849、1850年击败荷兰入侵者。巴厘诸王因意见不一致、背叛彼此以取得权力、与敌方紧密合作以获得好生意，最终才在荷兰统治下溃散瓦解。如今将巴厘岛的历史包裹在天堂之梦当中，多少是对真相的一种侮辱；过去千年来，这些人并非只是轻松地微笑唱歌。